


Withered Petals of Forget-Me-Not

by KiraLioden



Category: Persona 3
Genre: F/M, Persona 5 Royal spoilers too if you're aware of the situation but it shouldn't be too bad, SEES is kinda mentioned but outside the couple only Mitsuru is mentioned by name, also absolutely self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25439242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraLioden/pseuds/KiraLioden
Summary: Sometimes, the things you've missed shouldn't be come back, because it hurts when you realize it's just an illusion.And even when the world makes you forget, they'll find a way to remind you, especially if they love you.
Relationships: Arisato Minako/Sanada Akihiko
Comments: 15
Kudos: 52





	Withered Petals of Forget-Me-Not

Minako never has been the type to stay home all day, especially not to be a full-time housewife. Throughout all the time Akihiko’s known her, she goes outside every day and _always_ somehow comes home with more money than when she left. She likes doing that. But starting on the New Year, she’s been staying inside, and almost doubly as affectionate as she normally is.

 ~~_(_ ~~ ~~_but_ ~~ ~~_why does_ ~~ ~~_this day_ ~~ ~~_make him feel so solemn?_ ~~

~~_maybe she_ ~~ ~~_knows he’s_ ~~ ~~_feeling it too._ ~~ ~~_)_ ~~

It’s nice, but he worries about her, even though she’s only smiled as she shook her head when he asked if she wasn’t feeling well.

~~_(“I haven’t felt this good in years,” she told him,_ ~~

~~_and she sounded so **genuine**.)_ ~~

Besides that, the fact she’s calling all of their high school friends all of a sudden comes off as a little strange, even if they shouldn’t. They’ve all kept in close contact, after all. But as days pass, though, she grows more quiet, more tired, and doesn’t bother with the phone.

 ~~_(it seems familiar to him,_ ~~ ~~_and saddening,_ ~~

~~_but he can’t place why)_~~.

He even catches her staring out the kitchen window, water streaming down into the sink and never touching the plates she’s holding. She jolts back to attention and beams when she notices him, of course, but he knows something’s wrong. He’s almost afraid to ask.

 ~~_(_ ~~ ~~_it’s like_ ~~ ~~_a single question will shatter the moment)_ ~~

But one night, he wakes to the sheer stillness on her side of the bed. Akihiko turns over to see her sitting stock-still, gazing vacantly out the window. After a moment, he sits up beside her, his hand gently rubbing her back.

“Minako,” he tells her, “you should try to rest.”

She doesn’t respond. It’s like she didn’t even hear him, feel him, anything. Only the slight rise and fall of her back as she breathes assures him that she’s even alive.

~~_(this feels **too** familiar. _ ~~

~~_...why is he so afraid of her dying all of a sudden?)_ ~~

He doesn’t press her, though. There’s no point in stressing her out more than she is already. So they sit in silence, her eyes on the moon and his on her neatly folded hands resting on her lap. Eventually, patience pays off and she stirs a little, leaning against him like she often does. But this time, she’s cold to the touch. He runs a hand through her hair, briefly touching her forehead for her temperature. It’s frigid under his hand, too, far colder than any normal person’s temperature should be.

~~_(she feels like a corpse)_ ~~

Worry courses through Akihiko. He pulls up the comforter around them both in the hope it’ll warm her up. She doesn’t stop him. What she does do, though, is turn to him, staring at him with glassy eyes.

“Maybe we should go get you to a doctor,” he says, reaching to gently squeeze her hand. A little bit of life comes back to her face as her mouth twitches into a smile, and she returns the gesture.

“Don’t worry about that,” she assures him. “I’m fine. I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

~~_(he’s not sure if he wants to know the answer.)_ ~~

Her smile turns a bit wry, and she casts a glance at the moon again before meeting his gaze again. “I was just remembering our year together at school. It must feel like a long time ago for you. But you haven’t forgotten any of it, right?”

“Of course I haven’t.” He gently nudges her with his shoulder, and she laughs a little. “What about you?”

Akihiko sees a flicker of sadness in her eyes, but it’s gone so fast that he has to wonder if he just imagined it. “A little bit. Graduation day was a big event for all of us in the dorm, even if it was just you and Kirijo-senpai actually graduating. But I don’t remember what exactly happened, so a reminder would be nice, hmm?”

“Still calling her senpai, Minako?” he teases, and she swats him. “Hey, you’re the one that called her that, not me.”

“Shut up, Aki,” she tells him, voice playful, and it’s like they’re back to normal for a moment. She even rests her head on his chest. “I didn’t ask you to criticize the honorifics I use. I just want to know what happened that day, because all I remember is that I was really tired.”

She sounds like she definitely knows more, and that she’s looking for a specific answer. Why she wants that, though, is beyond his understanding. He brushes the hair out of her eyes as he tries to recollect memories of that day, but they feel weirdly foggy, like he’s forgotten something important.

~~_(but his heart apparently hadn’t, because it hurts._ ~~

~~_it hurts so much.)_ ~~

“Well,” he begins, “Mitsuru was giving her valedictorian speech in front of the school. I don’t remember you being there, so maybe that’s why you don’t remember. I don’t think I could forget about it, though; it was the first time I’ve ever heard her stumble over her words in front of a crowd that size.”

“Why did she stumble?” she presses. “I would’ve thought she’d practice that speech until she could recite it in her sleep.”

“It was about the death of her...” Her father, he wants to say. But Akihiko’s fairly certain he’s alive and well. But he can’t seem to think of anything that feels right. “Damn. Guess I don’t remember after all.”

She lets out a low hum, and he can’t help but feel like he answered wrong.

“Didn’t her father die?” she asks, and she sounds so certain that he suddenly questions himself. But no; the elder Kirijo was definitely alive at the time. He had to have been, if he’s still alive now.

~~_(but something doesn’t feel right._ ~~

~~_why doesn’t it feel right?)_ ~~

“Minako, I saw him with Mitsuru yesterday. He’s definitely alive.”

She chews on her lip in response, brow furrowed. “...alright then. So what happened after the speech?”

“We pretty much ran to the rooftop, and met up with you and Aigis. You probably fell asleep while the two of you were waiting for us.”

“...did I wake up?” she asks hesitantly. He’s not even sure why she asked.

~~_(no, she has a reason, he knows it._ ~~

~~_he just can’t remember.)_ ~~

“Of course you did. We can’t go to Hagakure without you; you’d chew us _all_ out if we did.”

“Yeah… I sure would’ve,” she almost whispers. She’s silent after that, too, and he’s afraid he said something wrong. He probably did, and he’s downright certain when he feels something wet dripping onto his skin.

“Minako?!” He pulls away from her, hands holding her steady as he tries to look at her face. She tries to turn away, but moonlight betrays her as it gleams off her tears. “Minako, what’s wrong?”

She doesn’t answer, but her eyes water even more. Akihiko pulls her back into a hug, and she doesn’t fight it. As she cries, it’s all he can do, rocking her gently until she slows to a stop. She’s still sniffling, but it’s an improvement.

“Minako... I’m sorry if-” he begins, but she interrupts him.

“It’s not you, Aki. It’s everyone.” Her eyes are wet, lashes damp. “I- I really wanted to believe this was real, too. That everything I knew was just some sort of nightmare, because no one acknowledges it. But everyone seems to have holes in their memory, or it’s all foggy after we defeated the Hanged Man shadow. You’re the same, and I-”

He doesn’t understand what she’s saying, not really, but he holds her tight until her renewed sobs quiet down, too.

“...We can talk about it in the morning instead if you want,” he offers, even though he knows he has to work later that day. He’ll be tired, but that’s secondary to her well-being. But she shakes her head, staring up at him. In that moment, she almost looks like she did back then, when they first started dating: adorably stubborn and so full of affection for him.

~~_(he’s never let go of that image of her)_ ~~

“No. I don’t know how long this is going to last, and I can’t waste any more time,” she says.

Her hands reach up to cup his face, and despite how cold they are, Akihiko feels nothing but gentleness from them. Her eyes are likewise filled to the brim with love as she says four words that make his heart break, even if they shouldn’t have.

“Aki, I’m not real.”

~~_(she’s right, and deep down, there’s a part of him that knows it._ ~~

~~_but it hurts to admit)_ ~~

It takes he more than a few seconds to respond, but when he does, he’s practically stumbling over himself.

“That… that doesn’t make any sense. Of course you’re real,” he says, even though there’s a sick sense in his stomach that he’s trying to ignore. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes- no. God, I don’t know.” She shakes her head, frustrated. “I’m here, and I feel fine. But I shouldn’t be here. I know I’ve been dead for almost seven years. And you know I have; you saw the seal, too, with the others. But since I’m here… and other people who’s supposed to be dead are alive too, this must be some sort of illusion. Though... I have no idea who or what could’ve caused this.”

Her words strike a chord deep in his heart. It’s familiar, almost evoking memories he knows to be true. But it’s all hazy, like something doesn’t want him to remember.

He doesn’t know what face he must’ve made to cause her to purse her lips like that, but her hands slip to his shoulders as she moves to kiss his cheek. “I’m sorry, Aki. Even if you don’t believe me now, I’m telling you the truth. And I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I just… I don’t want to hurt you when this ends by just… vanishing, or dying on you a second time. I didn’t tell you the first time, because I was scared about what you’d do, what you’d say, but I’ve regretted it every moment since. I should have told you, even if you didn’t remember Nyx.”

He can’t bring himself to say anything.

~~_(it’s so cruel. hadn’t he lost enough before?_ ~~

~~_first Miki, then Shinji… and then...)_ ~~

Maybe she’s more aware of his feelings than even he is, because she continues. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why this happened. I’ve already put you through more loss that you needed to feel once, and now you have to… you have to live with the fact you could lose me again at any moment, because I can’t leave you in the dark.”

She lifts herself up a little more, resting her head against his as she holds him in a loose embrace and smiles at him.

“But I promise, every bit of love I’ve felt and shown you while we were together again… that was real. I really love you, more than the world.”

Akihiko slowly returns the gesture, holding her close, like he’s afraid she’d slip out of his grasp. And he is, he really is. But it’s all he can do now.

So the two sit there in silence, lit by the moon’s glow as he tries to hold back the pain. He fails, and she holds him tighter, kisses him harder until finally he just wants to forget, just for a moment, and returns the kiss, too.

**Author's Note:**

> anyway i played persona 3 portable and it made me cry  
> and then i came up with random thoughts and they made me sad too and i decided that i should write one down even if i think my writing's crap  
> but man i wish i knew what characterization is


End file.
